SINGLE REVIEW: Round-Up 08/12/25 - 14/12/25
Echo 63 - Lipstick Stained Highs
Echo 63 lean fully into the thrill and fallout of destructive love on ‘Lipstick Stained Highs’, a pulsing, anthemic track about chasing chaos even when you know it’s going to hurt. Guitar-driven and built on big riffs, heavy drums, and killer hooks, the song moves with confidence and purpose. There’s a smart use of tempo highs and lows, steadily stacking momentum before surging into a huge, electifying chorus that hits as the track’s emotional and rhythmic peak. The sound balances grit and gloss — raw enough to feel expressive, polished enough to feel sleek — giving the song both bite and clarity. Vocally, it captures that push and pull between vulnerability and defiance, selling the idea of love as something addictive rather than safe. Dynamic, exhilarating, and rooted in classic powerhouse rock, ‘Lipstick Stained Highs’ feels hungry, determined, and unapologetically honest.
TBM Project - Humans
TBM Project bring a darker edge to hard rock with ‘Humans’, a groove-led track that pairs weighty guitars with an unsettling atmosphere. There’s a sinister undercurrent throughout, with almost whispered vocals introducing an eerie, shock-rock tension before shifting into something more robust, raw, and confrontational. The guitars hit with power, locking into a psychedelic groove that keeps the track moving while maintaining its sense of unease. Lyrically, it tackles violence, civil courage, and the choice between speaking up or turning away, grounding the heaviness in something relevant. By twisting familiar hard-rock energy into something more unsettling, ‘Humans’ feels timeless without sounding retro.
Earthquake - Tell Me Why I’m Blind
Earthquake hit hard with ‘Tell Me Why I’m Blind’, a track that thrives on the collision between anger and fragility. Fast, restless, and pulsating, the guitars surge forward with urgency, swinging between tension and melody as if searching for clarity in the noise. The vocals carry real weight, attitude, and rugged rebellion, delivering each line with a defiant edge that refuses to soften the message. There’s a fist-in-the-air energy running through the track — confrontational but cathartic, turning inner conflict into release. As the song builds, its raw momentum transforms frustration into something empowering rather than overwhelming. Fierce, emotionally charged, and unapologetic, ‘Tell Me Why I’m Blind’ captures modern rock at its most direct and galvanising.
Cypress Key - Just a Fool
Cypress Key share ‘Just a Fool’, a warm, guitar-led track that blends Southern rock ease with indie melody and a laid-back sense of reflection. Rolling effortlessly forward, the song pairs melodic guitar lines with twinkling piano touches, giving it a lightness that balances its more introspective core. The vocals are rich and inviting, supported by delightful harmonies that add depth without ever crowding the arrangement. Lyrically, it sits in that quietly relatable space of realisation and acceptance — recognising missteps, learning to live with them, and finding peace in moving on. The chorus lands catchy and unforced, lifting the track into something gently uplifting. Grounded, hooky, and full of warmth, ‘Just a Fool’ is an easy, reassuring listen that wears its heart lightly.
Jane Yo - Strange Things
Jane Yo present ‘Strange Things’ as a dense, atmospheric track that blends post-punk tension with shoegaze haze and dream-pop texture. Guitars and synths intertwine to form shifting soundscapes that move between restraint and release, creating a quietly cinematic pull. The vocals shimmer and weave through the mix, sometimes demure, sometimes more expansive, carrying an understated yet expressive, moody and brooding presence. Layered and textured, the melodies introduce a subtle brightness that glows beneath the track’s melancholic tone. Everything feels immersive and carefully balanced, with each element given room to breathe. Thoughtful, emotionally charged, and quietly compelling, ‘Strange Things’ leaves its mark through atmosphere rather than force.
Tiny Ships - Decay
Tiny Ships resurface with ‘Decay’, a track that wastes no time reasserting their presence. Driven by a thick, pulsing groove, it strikes a sharp balance between heaviness and melody, locking into a rhythm that feels both controlled and combustible. The vocals sit at the emotional centre, moving through volatility and clarity with a delivery that feels exposed rather than performative. Instrumentally, the band keep things tight and forceful, pushing forward with intent instead of excess. There’s a cathartic urgency running through the song, as if tension is being burned off in real time. Focused, direct, and unflinching, ‘Decay’ lands as a confident statement rather than a nostalgic return.
Marvellous Radio London - OPEN CLOSE
Marvellous Radio London is the project of London-based Argentine producer Santi Viale, and ‘OPEN CLOSE’ serves as a quietly confident introduction to his sonic world. Built around naturally saturated, spiky, jolting guitars, breathing drums, and intimate, close-set vocals that feel personal and authentic, the track favours feel and atmosphere over technical perfection. There’s a warmth to the production that feels deliberately human — cinematic at times, visceral at others — with each element allowed space to exist with vibrancy rather than being tightly compressed. The song moves with a romantic yet raw undercurrent, balancing tenderness with grit in a way that feels deeply honest. Its analogue-leaning approach gives the track a physical presence, as if you can hear the room, the air, and the pauses between notes. ‘OPEN CLOSE’ isn’t chasing nostalgia, but instead recentres imperfection and emotion as the driving force of the music.
Takeover - Buffalo
NYC outfit Takeover return with ‘Buffalo’, a breakup song that refuses to wallow, instead tackling loneliness and low moods with a sharp sense of humour and self-aware bite. It’s a high-energy, garage-rock blast, driven by hooky riffs, a pulsating beat, and an infectious groove that hits immediately. The vocals are full of charisma, selling the tongue-in-cheek edge without losing the emotional punch underneath. There’s a playful recklessness to the track, as if it’s daring you to shake off the gloom rather than sit in it. A tight rock ’n’ roll guitar solo adds to the momentum, keeping the energy buzzing from start to finish. Catchy, addictive, and unapologetically fun, ‘Buffalo’ feels like the musical equivalent of snapping yourself out of a bad headspace and getting back on your feet.
Tia Gostelow - Always (Low Lights Version)
Tia Gostelow revisits ‘Always’ with the Low Lights Version, transforming a song that was once bright, danceable, and charged with an almost mystical, sensual energy into something far more intimate. Where the original pulsed with an uptempo, vibrant beat, this rework strips everything back, revealing a soft, vulnerable core that barely resembles its earlier form. Close, emotive vocals sit against warm, organic textures, allowing the songwriting to breathe and take centre stage. Built from a simple acoustic foundation and gently expanded with piano, strings, bass, and layered harmonies, the arrangement feels hushed and deeply personal. The contrast between the two versions highlights Tia Gostelow’s growth as both a vocalist and storyteller, and signals a reflective new chapter in her creative journey.
Grumbeaux – Now Is Near
Written for a documentary exploring the long-overdue naming and remembrance of victims from a historic California plane crash, ‘Now Is Near’ carries a profound emotional weight — and Grumbeaux meets it head-on. The track opens with an industrial wall of noise before shifting into something more theatrical and abstract, driven by gruff, charismatic vocals and instrumentation that feels deliberately unsettled. It’s spiky and unpredictable, often brushing against chaos, yet the lack of neat cohesion only strengthens its impact. Around the halfway mark, the song strips itself back, leaving the voice exposed against distant, mournful strings, a moment of stark reflection that hits hard. When the reverb-heavy instrumentation returns, it does so with renewed force, creating a powerful contrast between dense noise and quiet reckoning. Raw, macabre, and deeply distinctive, ‘Now Is Near’ isn’t an easy listen — but it’s a compelling, creative one that refuses to dilute its message.
